One party hasn't signed onto Lancaster Convention Center plan

By Heather Stauffer,
June 9, 2014 at 11:33 AM

With the deadline looming, Lancaster County Commissioner Scott F. Martin said this morning that Penn Square Partners is the only stakeholder that has not yet approved a financing plan for the Lancaster County Convention Center.

If all parties do not sign on or before June 11, Martin has said previously, bondholder Wells Fargo has indicated that it is finished negotiating. If the deal doesn't happen, Martin said, he expects the convention center will exhaust its available funds and close -- the estimate he cited was within about 18 months.

The Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau and the City of Lancaster have already approved the plan, for which Martin praised them, and this morning he also lauded the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority for saying yes to the deal.

“I greatly appreciate the continued support of LCCCA,” stated Commissioner Martin. “It is important that this plan, which addresses seven years of revenues and seven years of expenditures and provides a bridge of financial stability as we await the opportunity to establish a long term plan in the future, is supported and adopted by all the stakeholders.”

“I commend the LCCCA for looking at the larger picture and agreeing to this plan and encourage the remaining stakeholder, Penn Square Partners, to do the same,” Martin said.

The convention center opened in downtown Lancaster in 2009. The integrated $178 million facility includes both the convention center proper, which is a publicly owned entity under the direction of LCCCA, and The Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square, which is owned by the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Lancaster and leased to Penn Square Partners, the private company that holds the Marriott franchise.